Bookings to Catalonia from UK tour operators down 14% in 2019

Bookings by British tourists through private tour operators for January to October have fallen by 14%, according to the Catalan government's tourism department.

The figure has caused "certain unease" as a likely effect of Britain's intention to leave the European Union, said the head of the Catalan Tourism Agency, Octavi Bono.

Yet, Bono also pointed out on Wednesday that bookings for the summer were up by 15%, while the places to Catalonia offered by airlines in UK airports were also up by 4.4%.

Bono explained that the Catalan Tourism Agency has been "exhaustively" monitoring bookings made through 2,000 operators in the UK every two weeks.

The agency head stressed the importance of the UK for tourism in Catalonia as "the second most important in the number of arrivals and [at €1.9 bn] the third in terms of revenue."

Barcelona-Mexico City link returns

Meanwhile, the Aeroméxico airline has resumed its direct link between Barcelona airport and Mexico City, with three flights a week, which will rise to as many as five from next spring.

The direct flights between the two cities, which began operating on Wednesday, resume those that used to take place between 2007 and 2012.

"We decided it was time for us to return. Barcelona was the largest intercontinental city without a direct link with Mexico," said Aeroméxico sales executive, Paul Verhagen.

The flights between Barcelona and Mexico City will be every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, with the return flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

The new route is the fifth that the Mexican airline now operates to Europe, after Madrid, London, Paris and Amsterdam.